Plastic cabinet drawer with removable partitions



May 23, 1961 D. H. KIRKMAN 2,985,333 i" PLASTIC CABINET DRAWER WITHREMOVABLE PARTITIONS Donald H. Kirkman, Canton, Ohio, assignor to Akro-Mils, Inc., Akron, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Feb. 23, 1960, Ser.No. 10,304

7 Claims. (Cl. 220-22) The nvention relates to drawers for relativelysmall cabinets for containing various types of small articles, and moreparticularly to a drawer of this type provided with removable partitionsor dividers, for dividing the drawer into two or more compartments o'fvarying size, with means for frictionally :holding the partitions inadjusted position within the drawer.

Inrecent years relatively small cabinets provided with a plurality ofdrawers, divided by adjustably mounted partitions or dividers intobcompartments of varying size, have come into' general use. Suchcabinets have a variety of uses Vin the home, oflice or shop toseparatelyhouse many small articles such as screws, bolts, nails, smallarticles of hardware, paper clips, staples, erasers, stamps, jewelry,cosmetics, sewing supplies, and many -other articles in such a manner asto be readily accessible.

In orderV to divide each drawer into two or more compartments o'fdesired size for containing the various articles, the drawers of suchcabinets are ordinarily provided with removable partitions or dividersadapted to be located in various positions transversely of the drawer todivide the same into the desired number of compartments of desired size.

Difiiculty has been experienced in the past by such parttions becomingaccidentally displaced so that articles -in two' adjacent compartmentsbecome intermixed, due to the fact that no adequate means has heretoforebeen provided for securely holding the partitions in adjusted position.

IIt is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to providea cabinet drawer of the character referred to having removablepartitions or dividers with means fo'r frictionally holding the same inproper'adjusted position within the drawer.

Another object of the nvention is to provide a. cabinet drawer of thecharacter referred to having spaced vertical ribs upon the innersurfacesof the side walls thereof to' slidably receive opposite ends ofa partition or divider having means thereon for frictionally eng'agingthe adjacent vertical ribs in the drawer for holding the partitions ordividers securely in position therein.

AV further object of the nvention is td provide such' a cabinet drawerwith slightly flexible partitions or divid- -ers formed of plasticmaterial or the like having small projections or buttons on oppositesides of each end portion thereof for frictionally engaging oppositeside walls of the grooves forrned in the drawer so as to slightly flexthe end portions of the partitions or dividers and frictionally holdthem in position within the drawer.

A still further object is to provide such a deviee in which projectionsor buttons are provided at'the top and bottom edge of the partition ordivider on one side therethe partition or divider into slightly arcuateshape and vfrictionally hold thesarne within the drawer. V

The above objects together with others which Will be w apparent from thedrawing and following description, or

Fatented May 23, 1961 which may be later referred to, may be attained byconstructing the improved plastic cabinet drawer in the mannerhereinafter set forth in detail and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing.

In general terms, the nvention may be briefly described as co'mprising acabinet drawer, preferably formed of a transparent plastic materialhaving vuniformly spaced vertically disposed ribs upon the innersurfaces of the side walls thereof, forming therebetween verticalgrooves for slidably receiving partitions or dividers which may beformed of the same plastic material.

Each partition or divider has small projections or buttons at oppositeends of one surface thereof adjacent to the upper and lower edges of thepartition and similar projections or buttons on the opposite surfacethereof at points intermedate the upper and lower edges of the partitionor divider.

When a partition is inserted into any desired gro'oves of the drawer,these projections or buttons at the-ends thereof will frictionallyengage opposite Sides of the vertical grooves into which the partitionis inserted, slghtly flexing the end portions of the partition, theprojections or buttons thereon biting into the opposite side walls ofthevertical grooves and frictionally holding the partition in adjustedposition so that it will not be likely to be displaced.

A horizontal rib is formed at the top edge of each partition for thepurpose of providing a finger grip for inserting the partition into thedesired grooves in the drawer or removing it therefrom.

Having thus brieiiy described the nvention, reference is now made to theaccompanying drawng forming a part hereof, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a cabinet drawer provided withanvadjustable partition or divider-embodying the nvention;

Fig. 2 is a detached, enlarged perspective view of one of the partitionsor dividers; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged,-fragmentary sectional elevation sho'wing themanner in which each end portion of the partition is flexed so as tofrictionally engage the desired groove in the drawer.

Reference is now made to the embodiment of the invention illustrated inthe accompanying drawing, in which similar numerals refer to similarparts throughout.

The cabinet drawer to which the nvention pertainsis indicated, generallyat 1, and although the drawer may be formed of any suitable material, itis preferably fo'rmed of transparent plastic material of a type whichmay be commonly obtained upon the market under various trade names suchas Lucite, Plexiglas and the like.

The drawer, if made of plastic material, is preferably extrusion moldedin a single piece and comprises the integral bottom wall Z, side walls3, and front and rear walls (i and 5 respectively. Any suitable drawerpull, such as indicated at 6 in Fig. l, may be provided upon the frontwall 4 for opening and closing the drawer as in usual practice. i

*The inner surface of each side wall 3 of the drawer is provided with amultiplicity of uniformly spaced, vertically disposed ribs 7 extendingfrom the upper edge of the side wall to the bottom wall 2. These ribsform therebetween vertical grooves 8 of uniform Width open at theirupper ends for the purpose of selectvely receiving opposite end portionsof the partitions vor -dividers 9, which may also be formed of the sameplastic material as the drawer itself. Integral projections or buttons10 and 11 are formed upon one surface of each partition, at oppositeends thereof, near the upper and lower edges of the. partitionrespectively. A similar projectionor button 12is formed on the oppositesurface of each parti- 3 tion at a point spaced midway between theprojections and 11.

A horizontal rib 13 is formed at the upper edge of each partition, onone surface thereof, to providea finger grip by means of which thepartition may be inserted into or removed from the grooves 8 in the sidewalls of the drawer.

When a partition 9 is inserted into any desired grooves 8 in oppositeside walls of the drawer, the upper and lower projections or buttons 10and 11 will engage one wall of the groove 8 into which the correspondingend of the partition is inserted, and the intermediate projection orbutton 12 will engage the opposite wall of the groove, as best shown inFig. 3, flexing the slightly flexible or resilient partition 9 intocurved or arcuate shape, as shown in Fig. 3, causing the projections 10,11 and 12 to bite into the walls of the grooves 8 so as to frictionallyhold the partition in desired adjusted position.

As best shown in Fig. 3, the comhined thckness of the partition andeither of the projections 10, 11 or 12 is equal to the width of a groove8, so that when the partition is inserted into the groove, in the mannershown in Fig. 3, each projection tightly contacts one side wall of thegroove, while the opposite side of the adjacent portion of the partitiontightly contacts the opposite side wall of the groove.

Thus, as shown in said figure of the drawing, the upper projection 10tightly contacts the upper end portion of the left side wall of thegroove and the opposite side of the upper edge of the partition tightlycontacts the upper end portion of the right side wall of the groove; theintermediate projection 12 tightly contacts the intermediate portion-ofthe right side wall of the groove and the opposite side of theintermediate portion of the partition tightly contacts the intermediateportion of the left side wall of the groove; and in like manner, thelower projection 11 tightly contacts the lower portion of the left sidewall of the groove, and the opposite side of the lower edge of thepartition tightly contacts the lower end of the right side wall of thepartition, frictionally holding the partition vertically flexed Withinthe groove.

From the above it will be obvious that a simple, inexpensive andefiicient means is provided for removably mounting the partitions inadjusted position within the drawer and for frictionally holding thepartitions in Vadjusted position within the drawer, so that they may notbe accidentally displaced from, the drawer, while at the same timepermitting removal of the partitions when it is desired to change therelative positions thereof within the drawer.

In the foregoing description, certain terms'have been used for brevity,clearness and understanding, but no unnecessary limitations are to beimplied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art, because suchwords are used for descriptive purposes herein and are intended to bebroadly construed.

Moreover, the embodiments of the improved con- H struction illustratedand described herein are by way of example, and the scope of the presentinvention is not limited to the exact details of construction.

Having now described the invention or discovery, the construction, theOperation, and use of preferred ernbodiments thereof, and theadvantageous new and useful results obtained thereby; the new and usefulconstruction, and reasonable mechanical equivalents thereof obvious tothose skilled in the art, are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

t 1. In a cabinet drawer having a bottom wall, front and back walls,side walls and an open top, a plurality of spaced vertical grooves onthe inner surfaces of the side walls, said grooves being open at theirupper ends, a removable partition for said drawer, said partitioncomprisinga flat sheet of plastic material .selectively insertable intosaid grooves, and projcctions on opposite surfaces L- of the endportions of said partition each projection engaging one side wall of thecorresponding groove and the opposed side of the partition engaging theother side wall of said groove and slightly fiexing the partitionvertically within said grooves.

2. In a cabinet drawer having a bottom wall, front and back walls, sidewalls and an open top, a plurality of spaced vertical grooves on theinner surfaces of the side Walls, said grooves being open at their upperends, a removable partition for said drawer, said partition comprising aflat sheet of slightly flexible material selectively insertable intosaid grooves, and projections on opposite surfaces of the end portionsof said partition each projection engagingV .one side wall of thecorresponding groove and the opposed side of the partition engaging theother side wall of said groove and slightly fiexing the partitionvertically within said grooves.

3.,In a cabinet drawer having a bottom wall, front and back walls, sidewalls and an open top, a plurality of spaced vertical grooves on theinner surfaces of the side walls, said grooves being open at their upperends, a removable partition for said drawer, said partition comprising aflat sheet of slightly flexible plastic material selectively insertableinto said grooves, and projections at spaced points on opposite surfacesof the end portions of said partition, each projection engaging one sidewall of the correspondingV groove and the opposed side of the partitionengaging the other side wall of said groove and slightly fiexing thepartition vertically Within said grooves.

4. In a cabinet drawer having a bottom wall, front and back walls, sidewalls and an open top, a plurality of spaced vertical grooves on theinner surfaces of the side walls, said grooves being open at their upperends, a removable partition for said drawer, said partition comprising aflat sheet of slightly flexible material selectively insertable intosaid grooves, and projections on opposite surfaces of the end portionsof said partition for simultaneously frictionally engaging oppositewalls of said grooves and slightly flexing the ends of the partitionvertically within said grooves for frictionally holding the partition inadjusted position in said drawer, the projections on one surface of thepartition being located near the upper and lower edges of the partitionand the projections on the other surface being located midway betweenthe upper and lower edges of the partition, Vthe projection near theupper and lower edges of each end of the partition engaging the upperand lower portions respectively of one side wall of the correspondinggroove, the opposed side of the upper and lower edges of the partitionVengaging adjacent portions of the other side Wall of said groove, theprojectionlocated midway engaging an intermediate portion of saidV otherVside wall of said groove, and the opposed side of the intermediateportion of the partition engaging an intermediate portion of thefirst-named side wall of said groove.

5. In a cabinet drawer having a bottom wall, front and back walls, sidewalls and an open top, a plurality of spaced vertical grooves on theinner surfaces of the side walls, said grooves being open at Vtheirupper ends, a removable partition for said drawer, said partitioncomprising a flat sheet of slightly exible material selectivelyinsertable into said grooves, and projections at spaced points onVopposite surfaces of the end portions of said partition each projectionengaging one side wall of the corresponding groove and the opposed sideof the partition engaging the other side wall of said groove andslightly fiexing the partition vertically within said grooves.

6. In a cabinet drawer having a bottom wall, front and back walls, sideWalls and an open top, a plurality of spaced vertical grooves on theinner surfaces of the side walls, said grooves being open at their upperends, a removable partition for said drawer, said partition comprising afiat sheet of slightly flexible materialrselectively insertable intosaid grooves, and projections'on opposite surfaces of the end portionsof said partition for simul- 2,9s5,sss

taneously frictonally engaging opposite walls of said grooves forfrictionally holding the partition in adjusted position in said drawer,the projections on one surface of the partition being located near theupper and lower edges of the partition and the projections on the othersurface being located midway between the upper and lower edges of thepartition, the projection near the upper and lower edges of each end ofthe partition engaging the upper and lower portions respectively of oneside wall of the corresponding groove, the opposed side of the upper andlower edges of the partition engaging adjacent portions of the otherside wall of said groove, the projection located midway engaging anintermediate portion of said other side wall of said groove, and theopposed side of the intermediate portion of the partition engaging aninterrnediate portion of the first-named side wall of said groove andslightly flexing the partition vertically within said grooves.

7. In a cabinet drawer having a bottom wall, front and back walls, sidewalls and an open top, and a plurality of 20 spaced vertical grooves onthe inner surfaces of the side walls, said grooves being open at theirupper ends, a removable partition for said drawer, said partitioncomprising a flat sheet of slightly flexible material selectivelyinsertable into said grooves, and projections on opposite surfaces ofthe end portions of said partition for simultaneously frictionall'yengaging opposite walls of said grooves for frictionally holding thepartition in adjusted position in said drawer, the projections on onesurface of the partition being located near the upper and lower edges ofthe partition and the projections on the other surface of the partitionbeing located midway between the upper and lower edges of the partition,the projections near the upper and lower edges of each end of thepartition engaging the upper and lower portions respectively of one sidewall of the corresponding groove, and the opposed side of the upper andlower edges of the partition engaging the upper and lower portions ofthe other side wall of said groove, the projection located mdway betweenthe upper and lower edges of the partition engaging an intermediateportion of said other side Wal-l of said groove, and the opposed side ofthe intermediate portion of the partition engaging an intermediate-portion of the first named side wall of said groove and slightlyflexing the partition vertically within said grooves.

Drengberg Feb. 26, 1952 Sitler Aug. 4, 1959

